Nine artists teaming up for crowdfunded comic anthology

When Joe Bluhm leaves Moonbot Studios, an animation company, for the night, he wants to create more stories. The animator-illustrator-director-designer and eight likeminded friends will put their creative passions into a forthcoming comic anthology called "Satellites: Volume 1."

Four of them work at Moonbot; five don't. All will contribute an original new comic to the independent book project. It's being funded through Kickstarter, an online crowdfunding platform. A few days remain on the campaign to secure funding.

Below, Bluhm explains how the group is teaming up.

Question: The anthology will feature work from nine artists who work in animation and storytelling. I understand each will be contributing one comic. Your pitch says that each story will be personal, but is the anthology tied together by a theme or credo? What does the title "Satellites" suggest about what's to come?

Joe Bluhm: Typically comic anthologies have themes, but with "Satellites" we wanted to be unfettered as much as possible. Most of us have day-jobs in the industry of comics, film, animation or illustration, and there's something freeing about giving yourself a goal and project with no boss, no deadline, no rules other than the format. I guess you could say that the theme was to do whatever was calling to each artist the most.

We went through many names, but the word "Satellites" felt right. It implies an orbital path around something. We feel that the strength of storytelling, the love and craft of art and narrative is our core, so we are all essentially moons swirling around that passion.

Q: That's fun. Part of the fun of anthologies for me is the mixing and collisions of styles. How varied are these voices and approaches?

JB: Quite! At first I wanted to suggest a style or curate the artists, but in the end it held more true to the goal if everyone did what they see fit. We have illustrators with wacky line art and pop colors, we have animation industry artists working in painterly form, we have comic artists slinging rough ink. It's all over the place, and I think that eclectic nature makes all of us feel very good.

No one person is being anything but themselves.

Q: Once released, what will the book be and on what platform?

JB: We are starting with simply a book. I have self-published art books for years (art2books.com), and we all share a love of the printed form. We will have copies of the hardcover book available, as well as a digital copy for those who order via Kickstarter. From there, who knows? … I know that calling it "Volume 1" was essential, as we are definitely up for doing more and seeing where it goes. It would be fun to explore the digital space with it down the road, but for now we want to stay true to the idea of something beautiful and bright to pull off a shelf or coffee table and physically share with a friend.

It will be a hardcover book with more than 200 pages in the standard 6- by 9-inch graphic novel format.

Q: You work on animation, in books, on canvases, but I assume you grew up working constantly on the printed page. There's a wonderful purity about it. As an artist who's pulled in so many directions, what remains alluring about putting work on paper?

JB: I will always love traditional art and the physical object. With digital we can do so much now, but it can be replicated. There are methods and techniques to shortcut or simplify process. (Most of us in this book utilized digital tools to paint.)

But what I find so sacred about traditional art is that there is something to hold. One flawed object that cannot truly be copied or modified unless there are things from this earth applied or taken. There's something wonderful about the imperfect and the idea of not being able to "undo."

Q: With crowdfunding platforms, you're in direct contact with your readers before the work exists. Does the process of generating support change what the book will become? Does the audience take you in a direction that you hadn't anticipated?

JB: The Kickstarter support has been wonderful, but with this project we have a clear idea of what the book will be. I think it is the nature of getting the first one off the ground. I am interested in trying a crowdfunded project again and allowing the wide supporting "team" to shape it more. I'll definitely try that with another project, but it would have to be part of the intention at the onset.

Q: When can I get my dirty paws on it? What's the print run, and where will it be sold? I promise to clean my paws before opening.

JB: Right now our plan is to treat the Kickstarter as a pre-order or fulfillment system. So backing us now is important. We may have extra copies for promotion, bookstore sales, and specialty conventions. Whatever we choose, you'll have to keep an eye on SatellitesComic.com to see. As of now, we may only start with 500 copies, keeping it rare and unique.

Alexandyr Kent is the executive director of Robinson Film Center, a nonprofit independent theater and education center in downtown Shreveport.

The nine artists in brief

Drew Alderfer — illustrator and comic book artist

Beavan Blocker — animator and humorist

Joe Bluhm — works in animation, illustration as a concept artist, designer and director